Classic Hikes in the Keweenaw

Editor’s Note: Austin Gongos is a Michigan native who moved to Hancock, MI, just over 10 years ago. In that time, he has hiked, backpacked, and run hundreds of miles on the trail systems in and around the Keweenaw Peninsula. Austin is also the Co-Founder of Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear, or CTUG, an ultralight backpacking gear manufacturer in Hancock, MI, and Keweenaw Outfitters, a guiding and gear rental company that he and his Co-Founder, Nathan Ackerman, started in 2024. Austin invites any and all inquiries about their gear, services, and the surrounding area via his email: Austin@chickentrampergear.com. Check out more on Chicken Tramper at chickentrampergear.com.

Whether you’ve lived in the Keweenaw your whole life or are visiting for the weekend, there are inevitably some hikes you might have missed. While everyone hikes for different reasons and at different levels, this article can be viewed as a rough guide for your Keweenaw adventures. It includes Classic Hikes in the area, a local’s opinion on these hikes, and a general idea of what to expect. This is by no means a complete list of hikes in the area, just some of my favorites.
There are different meanings to the word “hike.” For some, it’s going for a walk outdoors; others take it as a multi-day excursion into the backcountry. For most, it is a day-long excursion. Whichever definition works for you, and you can certainly do all three, in Houghton, MI, the obvious launching point for a trip to the Keweenaw is immediately identifiable by the Portage Lake Bridge.
The Lift Bridge is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark that spans the Portage Canal. And what a beautiful bridge it is! Along each side of the Portage is a miles-long path shouldering the waterway. The north side is a gravel path while the south side is paved and runs for about 4.5 miles. This is a wonderful hike that can be enjoyed by all and is easy to get to. I love walking and running this trail with fellow recreationalists. From views of Mt. Ripley, boaters on the water, and historic sites such as Dee Stadium, this hike has plenty to offer the beginner hiker.

Hiking Keweenaw Local

Branching out into the woods, you’ll find many options within 10 minutes of town. Hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing are incredibly popular hobbies in our area, leading to the development of the trail systems. They have tens if not hundreds of trail miles altogether and boast river walks, marshes, and plenty of hills with high viewpoints.
Starting in Houghton at Michigan Tech’s campus, we have the Tech Trails. Down the road toward Chassell, you have the Nara Trails. Across the Portage in Hancock, you’ll find the Maasto Hiihto Trail System (my personal favorite: the River Trail on the Maasto). On M-203 toward McClain State Park, you’ll find the Churning Rapids Trail System. Finally, just south of Calumet, you’ll find the Swedetown Recreation Area. All of these trail systems are marked well and have maps available online (keweenawtrails.com/trails-maps) and at the trailhead. Helpful hint: Take a photo of the trail map with your phone at the trailhead.
While it may be easy to overlook these systems because they lack “spectacular” views or don’t contain “majestic” waterfalls, it’s worth exploring the entire trail system. Here, the quiet serenity of the woods has just as much impact on us as the “epic.”

Whoa! Keweenaw Water!

A little farther from town, waterfalls await your hiking exploration. The “classic” waterfall hike has to be Hungarian Falls. The beautiful thing about this hike is that along this two-mile round trip hike you’ll find four different waterfalls to admire. With rocks and roots to contend with and some hills to climb and descend, this is considered a moderate-level hike.

A 15-minute drive from Houghton, the small town of Hubbell hosts the trailhead to this hike, and Tamarack Park is across the street for your post-hike picnic spot. This was one of my first hikes when I arrived to attend Michigan Tech. I still have fond memories of those times and hike this trail at least every year or two to see how the landscape has changed.
Branching out farther from town is Black Creek Nature Sanctuary. This hike is a 4.5-mile trail that hikes along Black Creek to Lake Superior. The wonderful thing about this hike is that there is a prize at the end of the walk — our beautiful freshwater sea!
Lake Superior is one of the most important natural resources to the Keweenaw area. One of my favorite memories of hiking this trail with friends involved packing lunch and some tea for a relaxing picnic at the lake and sunbathing on the sand as we listened to the waves rhythmically hit the shore. You can have these and other Lake Superior experiences as part of your own hike with friends! My other favorite memory of this area involves subfreezing temperatures and braving harsh winds as we walked out onto the frozen lake, taking cover behind giant ice structures that formed over the months of winter.
Hiking the same places in different seasons is truly one of the best parts of living here.

Hiking Keweenaw Topside

It’s not truly a visit to the Keweenaw unless you make it up to the top, right? Copper Harbor is the northernmost town in the Keweenaw Peninsula and is known as the “Crown Jewel” of Michigan. With world-class mountain bike trails, wild forests, and scenic views of Lake Superior from the shore to the top of Brockway Mountain (a drivable summit and beautiful view), Copper Harbor truly has something for everyone.
The number of different places to hike here can be overwhelming so I’ll keep it to my top three.
Hunters Point Park is a natural area with 4,800 feet of shoreline and 1.7 miles of trail. The loop trail spanning the Peninsula goes through a cedar forest and juts out regularly onto private rocky beaches along the shoreline. The rock formations are intricate and a draw for anyone into geology or natural formations. It’s common to hunt for Agates or Yooperlites (Lake Superior rocks with fluorescing qualities) on this beach and the perfect hike for the budding adventurer.
Next up is one of the only old-growth tree stands in Michigan: Estivant Pines. Only a few miles from Copper Harbor, the trees on this loop trail will blow your mind. There are 2.5 miles of trail winding through this forest filled with Giant White Pines as tall as 125 feet and as old as 300 years. This is a relatively easy trail for your average hiker and a must-see if you’re in the area.
If you’re looking for a challenge, Mt. Baldy is my recommendation. A few miles south of Copper Harbor is another small town, Eagle Harbor, where you’ll find the trailhead for this hike. This 6.3-mile round-trip hike ascends 869 feet to the summit of Mt. Baldy. Here you’ll be treated to views of the Keweenaw spanning out to Lake Superior. Don’t be fooled by the false summit near the top and be sure to pack some food and water because it can be a tough climb.

All of these trails and systems can be found using Google or Apple Maps, and trail maps are available online at their websites, AllTrails (alltrails.com), or most of the time at the trailhead. Service is limited in parts of the UP, so download maps and directions ahead of time! It’s always important to know your limits, let people know where you’re going and for how long, and the resources you should bring with you. These resources include water and food. And make sure to check the weather before you start.
It’s also important to observe the Seven Leave No Trace Principles which can be found at LNT.org. Remember, LNT is as much about respecting the environment as it is about respecting our fellow hikers. We go out into the woods so that we can escape the tumult of society and feel the joy of being in nature. So, when I hike and see traces of human activity, it takes me out of the moment, even if just for a moment. While wrapper litter is obviously against LNT, understand, too, that apple cores and orange peels also count as litter. Please do not think, It’s okay because it’ll decompose. In reality, it’s not great to introduce these foreign materials into the environment.
The easy way to simplify LNT is: If you hike it in, you must hike it out.

Building Now to Go Long Tomorrow

If you’re like me and have decided that you want to hike at the next level challenge, one that lasts multiple days, the options in the Keweenaw Proper can be limiting. There is a great organization named the Keweenaw Hiking Trail Association (KHTA). I am a founding board member of this group and our goal is to build small connector trails between the many trail systems in the area. The end goal of the KHTA is to create a Keweenaw Ridge Trail that would span the Keweenaw from Houghton all the way to the tip of the Keweenaw.

This organization is in its infancy and already has some connectors we’re working on. If you are interested in learning more, volunteering, or donating to this organization, please check out our website: keweenawhikingtrails.org.
Backpacking in the Keweenaw is less common than hiking, but throughout the UP we have Pictured Rocks Lakeshore, Grand Island, the Porcupine Mountains, and the often underappreciated North Country Trail. This trail spans 4,600 miles and runs through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The UP section of this trail is almost 550 miles long and our “local” section is maintained by the Peter Wolfe Chapter of the NCTA.
I recently backpacked 35 miles of this trail for the first time, the Trap Hills Section, and it was incredible. I’ve hiked all of the areas I mentioned above and while each boasts breathtaking views, the Trap Hills has something intangible about it. I hiked this section with my partner and our two dogs, walking up and down steep hills onto the cliff edges. We saw incredibly wild areas that seemed untouched by humans aside from the trail.
One night, we planned to camp on a forest service road that I spotted on my app’s map (Farout is the app I use for backpacking, an incredible resource). I didn’t realize until a quarter mile past the road that I had completely missed it because nature had reclaimed this road for itself. During the weekend trip, we only ran into one other person and had a brief conversation about the sweeping views we witnessed and how they differed from other areas such as the Porcupine Mountains. I was amazed that on this hike, which is almost as long as Pictured Rocks, we only saw one person, whereas on the Pictured Rocks trail you’d run into tens if not hundreds of other hikers. While I enjoy seeing people during my hikes, this showed how underappreciated the Trapp Hills may be, and I’d love it if more people (who follow LNT!) saw this wild area.

Working to Maintain the Wild

Keep the UP Wild is an organization undertaking the tremendous task of trying to designate the Trap Hills area, along with three others, as Wilderness Areas. This designation would not change what we can already do in these places as hikers but would limit the National Forests’ abilities to log their forests and alter the landscape.
Pictured Rocks and The Porkies boast the protections of a Wilderness Designation. The protections, as well as the publicity they provide, may improve the communities around these incredible natural areas by bringing in more hiking enthusiasts — like you! More information about Keep the UP Wild can be found at: keeptheupwild.com.
I do hope that the personal nature of this article gave you some insight into our hiking areas. It’s a great joy to share my favorite hikes in our area and encourage more visitors to our quaint corner of Michigan. I invite your emails whether they are relevant to my business or not, and am happy to advise you about lodging, hiking, backpacking, and dining in our area.